1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a modular portable work station comprising a computer and a plurality of computer peripherals that are interconnected with one another and efficiently packaged for storage within and control from a carrying case.
2. Background Art
Portable offices have been commercially available for several years. More particularly., it is known to package a personal computer and various computer peripherals within a carrying case to facilitate the transport and storage of a compact work station. However, the versatility of the portable office within such carrying case has been undesirably limited. That is to say, and because of the space constraints that are characteristic of the carrying case, the user is often required to remove either the computer or the printer from the case before access can be gained to each. In other cases, a computer printer and other standard peripherals can not be easily packaged within and controlled from the same carrying case, making it necessary for the operator to have access to an external printer and/or the other computer peripherals. The foregoing shortcoming detracts from the advantage of a portable office, particularly when the work space is very small, such as that which would be available on a plane or a train.
The versatility of some conventional portable offices is also limited because of the lack of a fully integrated and self-contained operation. That is, the computer and all of the peripherals are not always controllable from the carrying case. More particularly, external sources of power, telephone receptacles, and the like, are sometimes necessary before the office can be made fully operational. Moreover, some portable offices do not permit a user to selectively operate the computer and particular ones of the peripherals from a readily accessible and easy to operate master control panel.
It would therefore be ,desirable to have available a compact, portable office or work station including a personal computer, printer and other conventional peripherals that are efficiently packaged and transported within a carrying case. It would also be desirable that the computer and peripherals be controlled from the carrying case and selectively energized, one or more at a time, at a readily accessible master control panel. It is still further desirable for the computer and printer to be used without having to remove either from the carrying case.
One example of a portable computer and printer that are operated within a carrying case is available by referring to U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,590 issued Jun. 6, 1989.